Apply now for APME's Community Public Service grant

The outstanding work of smaller news organizations continues to be a priority of the Associated Press Media Editors as it announces the fourth year of the Community Journalism Public Service Initiative.

Media companies in metropolitan areas (MSA) of 100,000 or fewer people are encouraged to apply for the grant. The recipient will receive $1,000 to jump-start the initiative and a trip to the annual APME conference to present the project.

It's easy to enter: Draft a proposal of 500 words or less and include examples of how you would approach the project. It should be multiplatform, include social media and address a long-standing community issue.

Last year’s winner was the 13,000-circulation Enid, OK, News & Eagle for its community initiative "Under Pressure." Staff Writer Dale Denwalt discussed how the project unveiled that the city wasn't providing services for its poorest neighborhoods. Previous winners were The Sedalia Democrat in Missouri for its "Meth at the Crossroads” series and the Beaver Dam News of Beaver Dam, Wisc., for its series on mental illness in its community.

The 2015 winner will present its work at the joint ASNE/APME Conference Oct. 16-18 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

The deadline for applications has been extended to May 15. The grant will be awarded in June.

Details:

The grant: A $1,000 grant will be given to a small-media company for a public service project that addresses a long-standing community issue. If results are shown, a representative also will receive an expenses-paid trip (up to $1,000) to the ASNE-APME conference in October at Stanford.

Eligibility: The media company must have a website and serve a metropolitan area (MSA) of 100,000 or fewer people. Entrants must be Associated Press members.

Expectations: The project can use print and/or digital platforms and include social media and/or a mobile strategy. It should be considered entrepreneurial and should have the potential to be used elsewhere, including by a larger media company. Even though the project can be an ongoing series and continue after the ASNE/APME conference, there will an expectation that a part of the project will have been completed in time to present at the conference.